Presently, there is a need for devices to prevent injury through inadvertent contact with exposed reinforcement bars used in the construction industry. Workers who accidentally contact exposed reinforcement bars can sustain injuries ranging from scratches and cuts to impalement.
Most commercially available devices do not adequately guard reinforcement bars so as to protect against serious injury. For example, applicant's assignee offers an Econ-O-Guard protection cap which is individually fitted over the exposed ends of reinforcement bars. While these caps prevent minor injuries, such as scratches and cuts associated with accidental contact with reinforcement bars, the caps may not prevent impalement.
Another device employs a two-piece construction to guard reinforcement bars. A cap receives the exposed end of a reinforcement bar and is provided with a gap therein so that a row of reinforcement bars can be guarded by placing a protection bar in the aligned gaps of the caps. If any reinforcement bars extend beyond the remaining reinforcement bars in the row, they need to be cut to create a level line so that the protective bar can rest in the gap provided in each cap. This problem is exacerbated when, for instance, only one bar in a row of bars is lower than the others leaving the lower bar unprotected by the protective bar or requiring cutting of each bar to the height of the lower bar before the protective bar can be effectively used. Moreover, since the protective bar only clips into the gap of the protective caps, it is impossible for this device to be securely used with reinforcement bars that protrude horizontally unless the protective bar is supported in some other fashion, such as by tying the protective bar to the reinforcement bar, so that the protective bar does not become displaced from the caps.